S-Oil Breaks Ground on 'Shahin Project' in Ulsan, Marking a Major Shift to an Eco-Friendly Chemical Company

Investment of 9.258 trillion KRW in Petrochemical Complex Construction
"Creating up to 17,000 construction jobs daily
Over 400 permanent jobs after operation · Economic value of 3 trillion KRW"
President Yoon Suk-yeol “Strongly supports and cheers for a new leap forward”

S-OIL held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Shaheen Project (Shaheen?Arabic for ‘falcon’) on the 9th at its Ulsan plant in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, marking the largest investment in the history of South Korea’s petrochemical industry, totaling 9.258 trillion KRW, with President Yoon Suk-yeol in attendance.

The ceremony was attended by more than 300 people, including Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Kim Doo-gyeom, Mayor of Ulsan; Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco; as well as government and local government officials and representatives from construction companies, celebrating the start of a new chapter in S-OIL’s history.

The Shaheen Project is S-OIL’s ambitious plan to establish itself as an eco-friendly energy chemical company aiming for extensive carbon neutrality. The project is located in the Onsan National Industrial Complex in Ulsan and is scheduled for completion in June 2026.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, President Yoon Suk-yeol stated, “When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visited Korea last November, we agreed to develop bilateral relations into a future-oriented strategic partnership and to jointly promote large-scale economic cooperation projects in various fields such as energy, defense industry, and infrastructure, signing investment contracts and MOUs.”

He continued, “I sincerely congratulate the launch of the Shaheen Project, a representative achievement of Korea-Saudi economic cooperation, and strongly support and encourage S-OIL and Ulsan City’s new leap forward.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol is performing the groundbreaking ceremony at the S-Oil Shahin Project groundbreaking event held on the 9th at Onsan National Industrial Complex, Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City.
[Photo by Presidential Office Press Photographers Group] [Image source=Yonhap News]

The main facilities consist of the world’s largest steam cracker producing ethylene, a basic petrochemical raw material (with an annual ethylene production capacity of 1.8 million tons), the TC2C facility applying new technology that directly converts crude oil into petrochemical raw materials (LPG, naphtha), polymer facilities producing high value-added petrochemical products used as raw materials for synthetic resins including plastics, and related storage tanks and equipment.

Upon completion of the Shaheen Project, S-OIL’s business portfolio is expected to more than double the petrochemical share from the current 12% to 25%, playing a pivotal role in diversifying its refining business, which is currently centered on fuel oil.

The S-OIL Shaheen Project is the largest investment ever made by Aramco, a global integrated energy and chemical company, in Korea. Including the first phase refining and petrochemical complex completed in 2018 with an investment of 4.8 trillion KRW, the total investment cost reaches 14 trillion KRW.

Hussein Al-Qahtani, CEO of S-OIL, said, “We have taken the first step of this grand journey with the belief that now is the optimal time to invest for the future,” and added, “With the support of our stakeholders and excellent employees, we will successfully complete another new investment.” He further stated, “The Shaheen Project will advance our efforts to lead innovative growth across our entire business value chain as well as expand our business portfolio into petrochemicals.”

The economic ripple effects of the Shaheen Project are invigorating not only the Ulsan region but the entire domestic manufacturing industry. During construction, it is expected to provide jobs for up to 17,000 people per day, and after operation, it is anticipated to create over 400 permanent jobs and increase economic value by 3 trillion KRW.

The Shaheen Project will dramatically enhance the supply stability of domestic petrochemical raw materials, especially doubling the ethylene production capacity in the Ulsan region. It will also supply monomer products via pipelines to nearby olefin downstream industrial facilities.